1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the use of robotic technology in mining industry, specifically in the concentrator area.
2. Prior Art
Once the mineral is extracted from the mine, it should be subjected to a treatment to increase its purity. This metallurgical treatment is called concentration, which is carried out in a concentrating plant usually located near the production unit of the mine. This plant concentrates the minerals, until their metal content reaches commercial values. The stages of this process are crushing and milling (the progressive reduction of particles until reaching sizes lower than one millimeter), followed by the flotation process using chemical reagents, where the valuable mineral (copper and molybdenum concentrates) is separated from the gangue (which is the worthless material, called tailing).
In the milling stage, special reactors called grinding mills are used in which the mineral comminution process is carried out (the process in which the particle is broken to a smaller size). This process is carried out by combining impact and abrasion under dry conditions or in a water suspension.
As part of the normal operation process of semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills, the grinding balls should be loaded into the reactor. However, the automatic dosing unit clogs on a continuous basis and the reactor must be loaded manually. Similarly, the low storage capacity requires the continuous use of a crane.
From the economic point of view, one of the major disadvantages which the current method used for ball loading is the long time this operation takes, which generates a loss in the equipment productivity due to the fact that production is reduced because of mill stoppage.
Another disadvantage of the current method for ball loading is safety. Sometimes the personnel is required to go inside the equipment, which is usually a risky action, mainly due to the fact that some elements which are trapped between the liners fall down.
Due to the above, a robot system and method have been developed which allow to carry out an automated ball loading process into the SAG mills, so as to diminish the time spent for ball loading and to reduce risk of accidents in the personnel.